Mable: Here we are with the next chapter! It's all self-explanatory, so I'm going to let you keep reading without me babbling. I hope you enjoy!

Can't Go Home Again

Chapter Twenty-One

A few minutes after eight o'clock struck, Mike stormed into Chipper and Son's, ready for a confrontation. He headed straight back to the office, giving a brief nod towards Amber as he passed. She didn't stop him and he pushed right into Glenn's office. The man looked upwards from his desk and alarm suddenly struck his face. Somehow he could tell, from the glare on his face, that the young man knew. Or maybe it was from how of most of the animatronics had been stuck on their back for the rest of the night, and Glenn knew something put them there.

"Mike…" he began slowly and Mike's eyes narrowed. "So Glenn, I think you left something out of the conversation. Maybe the fact that your bots come awake at night and become homicidal. I had an axe at my head last night!" He betrayed his calm tone and blurted out a growl of anger. He had been waiting for this all night and the pent up frustration was not all towards Glenn, but he wasn't planning on holding it back. Glenn looked a little confused, "About that- How did you get in here? This whole place should've been locked down!"

Mike pointed his thumb back towards the window. From the way Glenn closed his eyes and wearily rubbed his face, he obviously knew he had left it open. Mike's anger cooled to a look of slight disinterest, "I want to know what's going on here. I already know it's not the same situation as Freddy's." Glenn dragged his hands down, staring over his fingers at the younger male. He took a few seconds to stare at Mike and then murmured. "So you saw what was going on over there…" There was a calmness in his voice, as though he suddenly was let off the hook, and Mike responded.

"That's right. I know about the animatronics trying to kill the staff, I know about the multiple unrecorded deaths, and I know what Fredrick was doing, so we can cut out all the 'press talk'. I want real answers; not the ones that were going out to the public. Why are these animatronics violent?" Mike was firm and straight to the point. Glenn leaned back in his chair and gestured to one across his desk. "Sit down," he offered. Mike did as suggested, staring Glenn down. "Before you think there's been deaths in this place, there hasn't. Nothing shady's happened here."

Once he properly defended himself, Glenn continued to explain. "When we first opened, they didn't act like this. It wasn't until our first Lumber Bot broke down that we had problems. We called in the technicians to work on it, the guys who did Fredrick's animatronics, and they said Lumber Bot was unsalvageable. So we got the newer one as a replacement…" He gave a slight shiver, "I don't know if it was him or if they fiddled with the other animatronics, but they started to do this after Midnight. We didn't call them back to fix them."

"Because you thought the technicians were behind it," Mike clarified. "Pretty much," Glenn agreed. "Anyone in particular? There was some trouble with some of the workers," Mike didn't know why he was being vague. Glenn tossed his arms in the air, "These people were supposed to be the best! You know, they put facial recognition technology into those damn bots over at Freddy's, but they somehow screwed something in ours?!... I'll be honest with you Mike. I think you're a good kid, but there was a reason I was giving those things out to you."

Mike had that suspicion. "I just assumed there was a company backing you or someone working with Fredrick. Someone thinking that the 'small group of kids' approach would hide that they're really calling the shots. I thought, what the hey, I'll dump off on or two of these things back onto Freddy. See how he likes it…" Mike now rubbed his head, "Wait… So you're telling me that you still thought Fredrick was alive? The bodies buried right outside-." Glenn cut him off, "The fact that you know about this stuff tells me enough… Fredrick would never let anyone figure this much out."

"Fredrick left a lot of his stuff behind. I figured it out on my own," Mike admitted. "Yeah, well… So I know it was definitely the technicians that did something. I don't know if Fredrick set it up or not." This sort of had Mike uncertain. It could've willingly been one of the technicians; Mike had one in particular in mind. It didn't seem that Glenn knew their names as he wasn't dropping them. "I don't know what to tell you. Fredrick lied about a lot of things; the franchise was practically built on it. All I can tell you for sure… Is that there is no way that any of those things are going back with me."

Glenn didn't seem very surprised by the statement. Instead he opened his drawer, "Look, with business as bad as it is, I can't risk you going out and telling someone about what's going on it here." Mike's hands suddenly clenched on the arms of the chair as the man said this. He started to become defensive as he listened to the next words. To his surprise, Glenn brought a lockbox out of the desk. "So I'm just going to see if I can match your price before this gets out of hand," he remarked and started to unlock it.

"I'm not taking bribes," Mike insisted. "Just… I'm not telling anyone, but that's only because this is really a bunch of haywire animatronics and not some sort of haunting. If I found out that people were dying here too I'd be at the police in a heartbeat, but for this… I can't risk jeopardizing my business. It would put me and my family at risk." 'Family' slipped out unintentionally, but it was best way to quickly describe the ragtag group that he had acquired. Glenn looked surprised, "Are you sure? You look like you guys could use the money." It was so tempting.

"We'll find a way. If we start doing this then it's going to escalate," Mike stood by his ethics. He then started to stand with a weary sigh. He planned to dismiss himself and leave, but he found that other questions still nagged at his head. "It was probably years ago, but do you remember any of the technicians that came in?" he finally broke down and asked. The older man didn't seem too certain, "Not really. I was only on a first name basis with a couple of them and they didn't stick around long. I think I might have a card or something somewhere."

"What about a timid looking guy, possibly in his twenties through fourties, sort of talked like…" Mike paused and then did his best mimic, "Like, 'H-Hello, yeah, you know, we're pretty sure the animatronics are killing people, but, hey, it's a day job. You know how it is'." He hadn't actually ever heard anyone say this, but it seemed enough like what he, the Phone Guy, would say. Even though Mike suspected the Phone Guy more and more, and had his own suspicions about his fate, he found himself interested more than usual in the stuttering male.

"…Now that you mention it, yeah. There was this one guy who was really blowing smoke, really anxious sort of guy. I didn't catch his name, or I don't remember it, but he was the one doing most of the talking. I got the card from him," Glenn started to scrounge in his desk as he explained. "Look, if you want to stick around a little longer, I can try to find it." Mike waved it off, "Eh, it doesn't matter. Don't worry about it. They're all gone now… I have to head back. The place is going to fall apart without me." He didn't really want to risk a second night in a hotel.

"I've got your number. I'll call you if anything comes in," Glenn promised and Mike soon left. Maybe he hadn't gotten the answers he had wanted, but he honestly felt like he had gotten some form of reassurance by talking with Glenn. With the van empty of animatronics, except Marionette, Mike started the long drive home. He quickly recounted what Glenn had said to Marionette, and Marionette seemed to believe him. Not because he trusted him, the puppet barely trusted anyone, but because he could vouch that the animatronics were not controlled by souls.

"So the trip was basically a bust," Mike finalized. "I mean, it was a lot weirder than I thought, but I missed a day of work to play 'axe the night guard' with Chipper and son." There was a tinge of amusement in his voice, though. In all seriousness, as disturbed as Mike should've been, he was actually feeling rather good. He had survived the night once again. Even though he required assistance, he had that rush that came from a near death experience, and that was something. "But you saw the show. That's the important part," Marionette tittered back.

"I kind of wish there was something more, you know?" Mike offered out. "We're going back home with nothing to show for it. I couldn't even get a, 'I suffered through Chipper's and then got the axe', shirt or anything." His eyes glanced out the window. He took in area of trees that was soon to be followed by the desert. It looked like some sort of camping area; a lake surrounded by trees was connected to the road by a thinner road that led off. Temptation took over, a playful smile as well, and he started to turn off.

Marionette looked confused, "Where are we going?" Mike gave a playful glance, "Not far." It wasn't as though it was a viable question. There was literally only one place they could be going taking this road. It was more to question what they were doing and why they were doing it, just in a shorter and less concerned manner. It definitely was some sort of park from the parking area and the clearings for camping around the lake, so it was by sheer luck that they seemed to be alone. Mike parked the van and then slipped into the back.

"Well, you weren't lying. This definitely wasn't far," Marionette quipped back, leaning against the door in disinterest and looking out at the lake past the window. It certainly looked nice; he couldn't remember the last time he had seen a lake, not counting the drive here. "We didn't really get anything out of Chipper's, so I was thinking… Hold on," Mike continued to sort through the stuff in the back. Finally he managed to find what he was looking for, a disposable camera. He knew Fritz usually used it for documentation, but with only five photos left on the reel he didn't think he would care.

He leaned between the seats and flashed a smile, along with the camera, "Let's go take a couple of pictures in front of the lake. It can be our souvenir for this lousy trip." Marionette seemed a little unsure about the offer, "Are you sure? Someone could easily see me. It's broad daylight and I'm not exactly a natural occurrence in nature." Mike was a little more convincing, "You walked through town at night and snuck into a theater full of people, neither time getting caught. I think you can handle a lake in the middle of nowhere."

Marionette didn't give any facial cues, so Mike kept prodding. "Just a couple of pictures. It's not like anyone's going to see them except you and me." He was just so insistent, so eager about something so simple sounding, and the puppet gave in. Even if it wasn't safe, he would do this for the other. He opened the passenger side door as Mike slipped out through one of the back doors of the van. He seemed to be keeping an eye out, but was nowhere near as paranoid as Marionette was. Any of his confidence was shot being out in broad daylight.

Mike led him down a short path to a small deck on the edge of the water. He handed over the camera, "So if you could just hold that with your psychic powers, maybe about ten feet away from us, we'll get a couple of us on the dock." Marionette slightly tilted his head, still confused about this entire thing and why it was so important, but went along with it and took position beside Mike. He didn't like putting his back to the lake, but did it, keeping his usual smile as he faced the camera. "This might not work right," he warned."

"It's fine, nobody's here," Mike reassured, considering whether or not he was supposed to put an arm around the other in a friendly pose, or if it would just be too strange. It wasn't like he usually walked with his arm wrapped around Marionette or anything. "That's not what I mean. I meant, if security cameras have trouble recording me, then I doubt this little, disposable camera is going to get a good picture." He had a point, but the human was still determined. "At least I'll look good," he responded with a smirk and clasped an arm behind the animatronic.

Which reacted in Marionette shivering at the sudden motion, relaxing, and then proceeding to take the pictures. For the first three they stood like that, on the fourth Marionette relaxed a little more, and on the fifth he moved a little more comfortably next to Mike, so it looked less like he was avoiding touch. Then the camera started to simply 'click' without taking photos. "It ran out, that's all the film we had," Mike pointed out and Marionette brought the camera to himself before heading back to the van quickly. Mike looked back at the lake before following.

As reluctant and determined as Marionette was to get back into the van, he seemed to calm down once inside, continuing to hold and look over the camera. "I'll send them in to get them developed when we get back in town, so we've got a couple of weeks before we can see how they came out," Mike remarked as he started the van. Marionette was more interested in something else, "I never knew you to be one so interested in pictures." Indeed, he hadn't. From what he saw, Mike didn't even have any photos, or none that he hung up.

"I'm not, usually. I don't know; I guess I have a soft spot for spontaneously risking ourselves." This didn't seem like a convincing enough answer to the puppet. Whether or not it was, Mike started to talk once again, entirely unprovoked. "It kind of reminds me of this place that my dad used to go camping. He used to show me these pictures when I was little, telling me that we'd go together once I got older… I don't need to tell you how well that plan worked out." Bitterness betrayed his voice and things Mike didn't want to say forced their way out.

"I'm sorry… What happened?" Marionette asked. He wasn't sure if it was inappropriate or not, but considering that Mike had asked him about his own death, it didn't seem like too much of a stretch. Mike gave a noncommittal shrug, "I don't even know. Just one day he was there and one day he's gone. I don't want to go into details about it…But it wasn't like what happened to Fredrick. I'll leave it at that." And yet, once again, he couldn't just leave it at that. By time they were back on the main road and heading towards home, the words returned.

"There was a lot of stuff I missed out with him. That's probably why I ignored what was going on at the Pizzeria enough to get close to Fredrick. Knowing what I do now… But he must have been doing something right. I mean, he raised you. That's something," Mike was now babbling, frothing with words that held no weight to them. Marionette slid down in his seat to avoid being seen by a passing car, toying with the idea of whether or not to say anything back. This conversation having taken a turn that he personally didn't want it to take.

"…I loved my father, Mike… But he wasn't perfect," he could see Mike look to him out of the corner of his eye. He didn't necessarily want to look at the other directly while saying this, not if he wanted to keep his face in check. "To be completely honest, he was never there when I needed him as a child. I was constantly on my own with- myself… Father made it up to me by taking me in when I needed him," Marionette admitted to him, but then added in. "I'm sure your father wanted to take you those places."

The silence returned over the van and stayed there for a couple of minutes. Everything was suddenly a lot colder coming off of talking about their parents. Marionette stayed halfway on the floorboard and lightly fiddled with the camera, nudging it around on the seat. At some point he figured out that maybe he upset Mike and broke the silence, "I'm sorry, Mike." Mike looked confused, "Sorry?" Marionette nodded, "I overstepped my boundaries. Our situations are entirely different and it is not my place to say anything."

"What? No. Don't worry about it," Mike interrupted the puppet. "That's not… There's a gas station up ahead. I'm going to pull in and refuel, so you're going to need to get in the back." Marionette knew instantly that Mike was trying to change the subject and wasn't exactly impressed by the effort. He silently moved into the back as Mike exited the van and went to work. He was glad to stretch his legs and took his time to briefly check his phone for any messages, finding it weird that nobody had called. The reason was soon apartment as he realized his phone was dead.

Shrugging off the fact that he forgot to charge it, he paid for the gas and left again, bracing himself and climbing back into the driver's seat. He was tired of driving, but he forced himself to continue in the effort to get home. A few minutes back on the road and he looked back, "Alright, which of us is giving the other the silent treatment?" Marionette leaned against the back of the seat, "I'm pretty sure it's you." Mike glanced around the road, "Huh… Anyway, we've got a while before we get home."

The mood was eased immediately and the tension was taken off. Though if Mike really thought about it, most of the problem had simply been him dwelling on something that he hadn't wanted to, and promptly followed by making the puppet uncomfortable. Either way, Mike shoved it into the back of his mind and focused on the rest of the drive. It was a relief to finally drive back into town and to the house. Though it was incredibly strange to see Jeremy's car still in the driveway. "That can't be good," Mike remarked as they pulled in beside him.

"Foxy wouldn't kill him, right? He's over that, right?" Mike inquired, actually feeling a degree of disturbance growing. "Foxy knows who Jeremy is. I doubt he would spontaneously kill him… But just to be safe, I'll go in first." Mike got a look like he was either horrified or ill, he felt like both, and Marionette disappeared. Thus, once again, a catastrophe had happened while he was away; or Mike assumed as such. He scrambled to unlock the door and get inside, frantic to see the extent of the damage. Why hadn't Jeremy left? What was he thinking staying overnight?

All of Mike's immediate concerns came to a sudden halt as he got into the door and saw Marionette peering over the back of the couch. There, laying on the couch, was Jeremy. He was in a dead sleep and looked exhausted as could be. Mike had to double check the grandfather clock and make sure it was the time he thought it was. Either Jeremy had been sleeping for hours upon hours on end, or he went to sleep recently, but that didn't explain why he was still there.

Marionette chimed in amusement, "The worst mistake a night guard can make; falling asleep on the job." He leaned on the couch, holding his head as he stared down at him. "Do we wake him up or do we just make him a permanent part of the furniture?" Mike stepped around the couch, staring down at Jeremy, and then nudged his shoulder. "Jere?" The man didn't awaken very quickly and it took a few more nudges before he groaned and looked upwards. "Mike?" Jeremy groggily muttered.

"Yeah, it's me. I thought you would've headed home by now… Or last night. One or the other," Mike remarked as he watched Jeremy drag himself into a sitting position. "I tried to call you last night. You're not going to believe the night I had… What time is it? It's morning?" Mike made a short chuckle, sort of like a scoff, "Morning was five hours ago. My phone was off. Speaking of which, let me fix that." He headed over to put his phone on charge while Jeremy now looked to Marionette, still watching him over the back of the couch.

"You're lucky. If you were at the Pizzeria, Foxy would've had your head," Marionette lightly teased. Jeremy tried to resist the urge to yawn, "He got as close as he could last night… Did anyone fall asleep and live?" Curiosity got the best of him and Marionette chimed back, "You did. I'm not counting now." Jeremy flinched in disturbance and Marionette again chimed in delight. Noticing how upset Jeremy seemed, he backed off a little. "I'm just having fun with you. Really, what did Foxy do?"

"He wouldn't let me leave," Jeremy noticed that Marionette didn't seem surprised or concerned by the statement. "Then we started to play this terrifying version of hide and seek. Foxy kept wanting me to find him and kept jumping out of closets-." At this point, Marionette slowly started to raise his head. His motions gave away disturbance, but his face held the same smile. "-and no matter how fast I ran, he kept getting me before I got to the front door. The game went on until… Maybe five? I can't remember. I just meant to take a break…"

Jeremy laid back down on the couch, clearly still exhausted, and as he closed his eyes Marionette let the disturbance pass his face. What Foxy had been doing struck a chord with him, a chord of frustration. Maybe he wasn't as close to Jeremy as he was to Mike, not by a long shot, but nobody deserved to be Foxy's plaything for the night. Without a thought, he turned and started back down the hallway, looking to confront the other animatronic head on. Meanwhile, Mike had the phone plugged in and checked his messages.

Out of nine messages, seven were Jeremy calling frantically, one was someone calling and sputtering briefly before ending the message, Mike assumed it was Jeremy again, and the last message was Glenn. This one was the newest and the most interest of the group. Glenn was casual on the other end of the line, "Hey Mike, it's Glenn. You're not picking up so I'm guessing you're on the road. So I found the card with the number on it. It's only got three of the names written down on it, so the fourth guy is still at large. The number is…"

By this point Mike had collected a notepad and a pen and jotted down the number in question. "Three of the guys here were David, Fritz, and Chance. I think the fourth guy was the nervous one, because I think I would've remember his name if it was one of these three. If you find anything else then call me back, and if you change your mind about taking one of these guys…" Mike stopped paying attention at this point, because he was too busy standing there with a slack mouth and widened eyes.

He had called out Fritz, Mike's friend, Mike's business partner, the last person who Mike could ever imagine lying to him. Fritz had been there, Fritz had been involved, and now animatronics were trying to attack people. Mike sprung to his feet and stormed to the door. "Jeremy, Mari, I'm going to see Fritz. Don't wait for me." As though they would be going anywhere. Jeremy didn't even rouse as Mike disappeared out the door, falling back into a soundless sleep.

He was oblivious to the things going on around him.

Mable: I've been finding that the more I plan for a chapter, the more I get ideas that derail my plans entirely. ^-^ Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it expanded a single chapter into two. It's allowing me to make a lot of choices for what's coming in the future and, let me tell you, I've got some exciting stuff planned. If I can get the groundwork laid down, then I'm in the clear. I also have one big decision that I just cannot make… But I'll figure it out. Tomorrow's another day, yeah?